An organic/inorganic hybride material is sometimes called a ceramer, i.e. ceramic and polymer, which is a nano grade composite material obtained by mixing an organic material with an inorganic material in nano dimension. Intermolecular interactions, e.g. van der Waals' force, hydrogen bond, and chemical bonds, endow a synergistic effect on the organic/inorganic material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,456 vinylimidazole and [3-(methacryloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane are copolymerized to form a modified polyvinylimidazole, which then undergoes hydrolysis and condensation reactions with water and tetramethoxysilane to prepare a hybrid of polyvinylimidazole and silica. Experimental analyses show that covalent bondings exist between the modified polyvinylimidazole and silica in the hybrid
Since a phenolic resin has phenoxy and methylene groups which are strong oxidative groups, the phenolic resin has poorer weather resistance, thermal oxidative resistance, and chemical resistance. Moreover, a phenolic resin is limited in its applications due to a high thermal expansion coefficient and difficulties in processing. However, major drawbacks of the phenolic resin include its brittleness, poor toughness, and poor mechanical properties, which adversely affect its applications greatly. On the other hand, the phenolic resin has good thermal stability, and electrical insulation property, etc. Furthermore, a composite material based on a phenolic resin has properties including fireproofing and flame retardance, etc. Therefore, the phenolic resin has become one of the important resins used as a fireproofing material.
Silica has a very low water absorbency (˜0 wt %) and thermal expansion coefficient (˜0.5 ppm/K) and is a very ideal inorganic material for endowing a polymer such properties. However, if a hybrid material does not form any chemical bonding (particularly a stable covalence bonding) between a polymer and silica, such a hybrid material will have defects such as poor thermal stability, or even have a phase separation problem, which further affects the mechanical properties of the resulting hybrid material.